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Charles Michel Le Tellier
Charles Michel Le Tellier (born 17 June, 1729) was the Marquis de Louvois. Being the eldest son of Louis-Michel Le Tellier, he succeeded his father somewhat seamlessly in 1758. He was the first Marquis de Louvois since Charles Xavier Le Tellier to have become Marquis de Louvois when neither him nor his father were at court. Early Life and Family Charles Michel was born in June of 1729. He was the first son of a fairly new couple: Louis-Michel Le Tellier and Marie Josephine de Saint-Simon. Charles' birth cemented an alliance between these two families and, for the time being, somewhat preserved the House Saint-Simon from extinction. House Saint-Simon had, by the time of his birth, fallen to bits and pieces, only one generation remained and they were hardly a marrying lot in the male lines. Charles was a very promising child. His father was the heir to the House Le Tellier, and his mother was from one of the wealthier Provincial families, the House Saint-Simon. His mother absolutely adored him, as did his father. Charles had 5 full siblings and 3 half siblings in his lifetime. He was especially close to his younger sisters, and was particularly heartbroken when the twin elder sisters both died in 1733 Marie-Anne, the younger of the three original sisters, was his closest companion for quite some time after their sisters' deaths until she went to join an Abbey. Charles's younger brothers, Philippe-Dieudonne and Louis-Matthieu, weren't as close to him. He was a somewhat cold older brother to them, though he did on occasion defend them from their somewhat overbearing tutor. Their tutor did, however, teach them all well with Latin, Greek, Italian, German, English, mathematics, Philosophy, Politics, and the Harpsichord. Charles rarely spoke to his grandfather, who was always at court. The two never really had much in common, with Charles being obsessed with the intrigues of Provincials like his father while his grandfather was more focused on court life. The two did however agree that the Monarchy is responsible for the protection of the people and the realm, though it is their right to do so absolutely. Charles was a fairly intelligent child. At age 7, Charles lost his mother after she gave birth to her final child, Louis-Matthieu. He was virtually catatonic for weeks after this. Being only 7 and now having to deal with very adult situations, Charles finally snapped out of it and tried to keep the family together while his father prepared to go to court. Not long after his mother died, his grandfather would follow and his father would have to take the man's place at Court as the Marquis de Louvois. The wedding between the Marquis de Louvois and Mademoiselle de Penthievre was not attended by Charles or his family. Charles did, however, write to his new mother as a welcome to the family. Charles also welcomed his new half siblings as they came along. He made a very solemn promise to care for them, his new mother, and his widowed step-grandmother, when his father was too busy to do so.He got along relatively well with most of his family, though even his father was noted in saying that he was very overly formal to an almost unbearable degree. Early Career By around age 15, Charles was beginning to work with his father in family affairs. This of course included business transactions with the court and the Provincials. This began with his being trained by the Comte de Revillac, his own uncle. The House Saint-Simon and House Le Tellier had been working together since Revillac's sister married Charles's father, however it was becoming more and more painfully obvious that the House Saint-Simon was soon to crumble. That being said, Charles made very sure that his uncle would be pleased with his work, and within a year or so the formal and promising young Charles had become a ruthless, business-savvy, and determined individual. By 1746, Charles had involved himself with some of the darker underside of the Provincial problem. Charles was in charge of forging signatures to scramble Provincials away from their plots. He was also charged to work in communicating information in code to his father, uncle, and the Comte de Dammartin. The three of them were virtually unstoppable so long as it was Charles who relayed the information. The young man was very trustworthy and loyal. Not a soul could really get him to divulge his actions. Charles was an expert at his backdoor craft by age 18, and he became a very formidable force among the provincials. He had become a ruthless man, very determined to end the Provnicials' plots. He saw what the Provincials couldn't: the effects that their little plots have on the court and to a greater importance, the country. This drove Charles to not only attempt to thwart these plots, but very nearly erradicate several houses. Courting of the Mademoiselle d'Albon In late August, 1750, Charles was working with his father to protect the House Albon from an on-gong threat that House Grimoard and House Cambout posed against them. These two houses were ever so notorious for their lack of mercy when trying to achieve any form of gains. These little plots from such violent and cruel houses would've included thievery, extortion, and torment, and had they reached House Albon at that point, so much blood would've been spilled not even the strongest of cleansing could've washed away the effect. Charles was assigned to manage the letters that were sent out from and to the House Albon and their small collections of servants. This is where he began an interaction with the Comte d'Albon's young daughter, Marie-Louise Athenais. When he would deliver her parcels, almost always around lunch time, she'd happily invite him in for tea. The two would spend all the time they could together enjoying their company. Charles unfortunately was very busy working, but the two would do their best to spend as much time as possible together. The two were in love, and even their parents agreed that when the time was right, they should be married. This would, unfortunately, come to a close in 1753 as House Cambout had gained enough strength to infiltrate House Albon's servants without being detected. Their motive was no longer to attack House Albon, but to obliterate the morale of the little "mayflies" (as Charles's father would've called them) that worked for the Le Telliers. Their first target was only one of the most successful carrier pigeon of the time, that pigeon being Charles Michel Le Tellier. The de Cambouts knew very well the grim aftermath if they eliminated a member of the Le Tellier family directly, so the easiest way to send a very clear message was, of course, to target someone a Le Tellier loved more than anything. They chose the easiest target they could get to: Athenais. It is believed that some form of arsenic was used, brought in by the infiltration that the House Cambout implemented, a maid named Louise. Poor Athenais was given such a high dose that she had vomited enough blood to fill a very large cask by the time Charles got into the room. Athenais died in his arms. Charles heaved such a shout the entire chateau went on lockdown until Louise was found. Charles was so upset and in shock that he didn't even order Louise's arrest. Instead he relayed the incident to his father and had Louise thrown into a river weighted down with stones. Continued Work Charles had become extremely violent following the incident with Athenais. He demanded to his father that no quarter be given to any house, whatsoever. Even Charles's own friends were very afraid of him. Charles became ever-so isolated from everyone, with the exception of course of his colleagues. He indulged himself in nothing but work, constantly forging a letter, making plans, and relaying information to his father and their mutual colleagues. He became more and more emotionless as time progressed. By 1755, he'd become by far the least emotional person in the nobility. He had no cares, only contemplation on his duties; the only thing he thought of was his work. This slowly changed when a threat was made against his brother, Philippe Dieudonne. Charles sprang into action and personally escorted him to Villandry. This did not, unfortunately help the situation. Charles did his best to cover their tracks by sending a fake letter that the two were heading to Saint-Michel, addressed to his father, intending it to be found by the House Cambout. They had indeed found the note, however theyr counter-intelligence spotted the carriage head for Villandry's gates. The two believed they were safe within the confines of Villandry, but they were unfortunately not. As it turns out, the Le Tellier policy that no one who can claim descent from them is unwelcome to a Le Tellier Property had come around at last to have caused quite a tragedy. One of Charles's own cousins brought in the poison that killed Philippe. The second son of the Marquis de Louvois, Philippe Dieudonne, died on the first of September of 1755, in his brother Charles's arms. From then on Charles swore revenge on whomever could've done this atrocity and affront to the good name of the House Le Tellier. Charles never mentioned Philippe's death to his father. He actually lied instead to protect him from the prospects of knowing that he had outlived one of his sons. Charles instead wrote to his father, saying that Philippe had fled the country for England, in hopes of having a temporary asylum with the Duke of Devonshire. To prevent his father from finding this was a ruse, he forged his own brother's handwriting and wrote a letter to his father saying that he'd reached England safely. Louis never found out about his son's death. Philippe's body was buried in the Ossuary Pit in secrecy. Avenging Philippe It took Charles all of 2 days to figure out which of his cousins had done the deed. It turns out that some of the, now grown, descendants of Henri Philippe Le Tellier, whose lives were saved by the Marquis de Louvois in 1737, had forgotten their loyalties. Around 7 of them had left their chances of being something special in the clergy, and joined up with the House Cambout, in the prospects that obliterating the main branch would make them eligible to inherit the decently vast estate that had been known by the Le Telllier household. Little would any of them know the wrath they had just called upon themselves. The Comte de Revillac assisted Charles in finding out who ordered these Le Telliers to cause such a tragedy to occur, that person being the Baron de Chanteaux, Henri de Cambout. This man immediately became Charles's first target. Charles hunted the Baron down for weeks on end. He deliberately tormented de Cambout, letting him slip through by the narrowest of margins until finally in November of 1755, Charles captured the Baron de Chanteaux. Days of interrogation took place, and loads of information was divulgedand sent to the Comte de Revillac. It is unknown when the Baron was executed It is said, however, that pieces of the Baron are still found to this day floating down the Seine. Marriage and the Le Tellier Anarchy In April of 1756, after having spent a short break on specific order of his father, Charles began petitioning his father for marriage. Charles had originally staved off marriage, not wishing to indulge himself in such union as he was very heartbroken from the loss of his dear Athenais. That being said, Charles realized he'd staved it off long enough, and it was high time that this integral role in a noble's life was to be filled. Charles's father made very sure that he'd be happy with the match. He'd been relatively unstable emotionally for a very long time, but fortunately it at least seemed he'd come back to Earth enough to return to the world others see. The Marquis made the decision to align with the House Foucauld, arranging the marriage to the Baron's daughter, Marie-Anne Isabelle. The wedding took place on 11 June, 1756 at Villandry's pseudo-chapel, as it was a decent enough arrangement for a small host of guests and such. Charles actually had a genuine interest in her, however he put work before everything, knowing the figuratively massive shoes he was set to fill. The two had their first children in 1757, a pair of twins by the names of Jules-Joseph Michel and Marie-Elisabeth Josephine. Around the time of their marriage, Charles was made aware of more developments involving his rebellious cousins. To protect the few he could, he was able to ensure the safe passage of his first cousins and the Comte de Beaumont. His other cousins, however, were in a much more dangerous position. Most of them had trusted in a select few provincial families, including the House Cambout. This would lead to a very large brawl. The brawl took place in November,1757, in the vast gardens of Brienne-Abigail. The ilk that had avoided their deaths at the hands of Jean-Jacques the Protestant had all escaped their protection in Reims and of course were demanding salaries from the Le Telliers as well as any relative they could scrounge upon from their maternal houses. Charles secretly organized a rendezvous with his cousins to explain the depth and weight of their treacherous decisions. The meeting at first went well. A few of the cousins attempted, in vain, to argue that their decisions were to profit for the house as a whole and gain the loyalty of Provincials. As they tried to argue these points, other members began bringing up affiliations with the de Cambout and their involvements with their shady dealings. Charles eventually put his foot down and tried to silence the crowd. The crowd, however, had already begun throwing punches. Charles narrowly escaped to hide in the chapel while the near-riot level hurleyburley of the fight moved to the expansive gardens. The brawl amazingly had no casualties, which was epsecially miraculous considering that at one point they'd fallen into the moat and were nearly drowning one another. The brawl concluded with no true progress. Charles's 3 first cousins were still in hiding Italy, while the Comte de Beaumont was remaining at his residence in peace and quiet, unaware of the dangers he just narrowly avoided. The brawling cousins, however, were unfortunately not so lucky. None of the group were poisoned, however their decision to take a dip in the moat in the middle of November was ill advised to say the very least. None of the lot who'd fallen in the moat were still alive by Christmas, all of them being dim-witted enough to have obtained pneumonia. The travesty was kept very well under wraps, no one being anywhere near a granted notification of such horrid tom-foolery. Death of his Father and the Provincial Purge As December drew near, the Marquis went back to court for a very short time, to square away some business he had. He was present for the death of his friend, the Cardinal de Mortemart, among others. Louis returned home to be assisted by Charles in final matters. Charles was made very aware of what is to occur. Charles and his father spent most of December planning the chain of events that were to happen on the event of the Marquis's death. Without such insurance, the Le Tellier family would've gone down into obscurity, just like the Provincials they despised so much. The two planned what they could do while waiting as well. They cleared out what business they had and called what debts due they could call. Needless to say, both knew that at least one of them would not live beyond February. The day for Louis-Michel Le Tellier would come on the 17th of January, 1758. He'd been in Paris clearing up some business with an associate following the death of the Comte de Revillac. He was on his way to his final meeting when an assassin stabbed him to death. He bled to death on the steps of Notre Dame. Immediately following the burial of his father, Charles began his spring into action. He personally petitioned to the Sovereign for permission to act and ultimately get rid of all the provincial houses that caused trouble. By the end of March, 1758, all of his enemies. A total of 18 houses were obliterated for their crimes, all were buries in paupers' graves. Never again would the Provincial class of Nobles be able to threaten the court to such magnitude. Court Visits After the Provincial Purge, Charles returned to court regularly, mostly to care for his wife and help keep relations with the court. However, these were widely dispersed between his visits with colleagues in Paris and Normandy. With his wife being suspiciously pregnant in 1758, Charles officially proclaimed that it was his child and he'd hear none of the rumors that she'd had an affair with the Duc d'Anjou. In truth however, Charles was well-aware. He and his wife had an understanding: in his absence, the Marquise may find lovers and she will have few if any consequences, so long as upon his return, she remains loyal to him. Charles heard about the affair from his wife's own lips, and he approved of it. He did warn, however, that she must tread very carefully, as to not anger the Imperial Family. On the birth of the illegitimate daughter, named Marie-Clementine Sophie Victoire, Charles actually remained calm and collected. He vowed quietly to ensure that the child would be properly cared for and ensured a decent future. Charles and his wife went on to have 2 more children together, all of them being raised alongside their older twin siblings and their half sister, Victoire. War of the British Succession Charles was involved in the war from the very start. He was approached by the Dauphin and Monsieur le Prince to begin an espionage mission before the war had begun, by means of sending a few associates to the Isles and a few others to purge the Empire of enemy spies. Because of a disagreement he had with the Monsieur le Prince, he had initially left this mission early, not long after the death of the last English spy reported. He required no fee and re-called his associates to return immediately. With many deaths among his associates, Charles decided to follow his word and give what was salvaged to the Dauphin, to complete his mission without fee being given to his person. Charles returned to his duties only weeks after sending the notes his surviving associates had gathered to the Dauphin. He had received word a concerning amount of small parties from Hanover and Cornwall just after the Raid at Dunkerque, and noted some of their suspicious locations. The Marquis resumed his duties as soon as possible, When asked why he did not join his brothers in military service, he stated that he had other things to tend to for the state, usually attributing his "lack of contribution" to his duties as Garde des Sceaux. The death of the Duc de Luynes was a small blow to Charles's mental state. Because of his death, combined with the death of the Dauphine and the Duchesse de Mortemart, was enough to send him into a spiral of sheer sadness and general melancholy. He left court for a short time to recover in Bagatelle, in that time beung utterly swamped with work in both legal courts and in his clandestine dealings. By the end of the war, the Marquis was able to capture, try, and execute countless individuals that were known spies for the British Protestants, but at a cost. He lost more than 20 associates in the 2 years of war, and was obligated to request the state to pay the families that lost relatives. For his quiet service to the Empire and general competence, Charles was awarded a knighthood Order of St. Benignus. Charles rarely mentioned the death of his brother, Louis-Yvon, who died in the war and was eventually brought back to be buried in the ossuary. Not long after the war's end, the Grand Dauphin fell ill and died. After several deaths at court, Charles felt a bit alone, but while he was certainly saddened, he was more angered at the general affair. Court Etiquette of witnessing the death was breached in the melee of the event's entirety, in small part because a German Immigrant granted post in the Guard outright insulted and even threatened him for no reason. Charles received new suits and several rings for the first time in years in the Dauphin's will, and wore what he had received with pride, even tailoring the Dauphin's cloth with some of his own unused, especially some of the changeable cloth. Appointment in Champagne Charles was known for quite some time to be in correspondence with the Governor of Champagne. The Province was of course the place of origin of his house, the location of the majority of the Le Tellier titles are located in Champagne, not too far from both Troyes and Épernay, two very important cities in the province. Personality and Appearance Charles can be described very simply as frugal, intelligent, and quite adept at court pleasantries. He was, however, a dual person like his father to some extent. He was known to be almost as a sociopath, knowing exactly what to say to make the people in his presence happy or at the brink of insanity, while still accomplishing a goal. Not a soul really could tell what he genuinely enjoyed, however some may say he enjoyed everything he would partake in, and feign enjoyment of other things in conversation, so to avoid such in action. His outward appearance of pleasantness would, to the unaware, give an air of approach-ability and kindness, which was partly true. If he was asked a favor by a true friend or someone he deemed as either helpful or at least decent to those around him, he would do the utmost to fulfill said tasks. That being said, however, as soon as someone were to show any form of what he would consider to be weakness or disloyalty, he would drop any communication with them. There were very few things in his life that truly perplexed him, though those that did had quite an impact. He had the unfortunate fumble for a loss of words when trying to truly convey his feelings. Even in private, he would rather not say a word than be honest about how he felt about things, usually because he rarely knew how to convey his true emotion. This was only corrected in his writing. His letters were notoriously blunt about how he felt about things. What he could not say, he could write. Charles was also notable to have had quite a struggle with piety and the concept of death. He was surrounded by death in his own little world, and according to his beliefs, some would go to heaven and some would go to hell. However, his personal accounts marked a form of confusion, many questions of the body after death and the fate of a soul. He forever struggled with faith, however he swore to never stray from the True Church, believing that one day the right guidance would give him the answers to his questions. One of the most notable features of his personality was his frugality. He spent as little as possible in order to manage his house. His refusal to spend money on anything was reflected by his fashions. Instead of buying new suits, he refurbished his father's old ones, having them tailored to his shorter frame. Many contemporaries were known to have mocked him for doing so on such a high level, calling him "the toddler playing dress-up" and noting his penny-pinching a way of avoiding the inevitable debts that come with being at court. In his appearance, Charles was very comparable to his mother, Marie Josephine de Saint-Simon. He was known to have a very thin face, similarly to his mother. He had the Le Tellier Mouth, very small and thin. He was shorter than his father, slightly stubbier than him as well. His skin was also paler than his father, more resembling his grandfather. His eyes reminded most around him of his grandfather's as well, pale grey-blue-green. In truth, the way most could tell that Charles' father was indeed Louis was his demeanor and the way he'd keep his mouth closed. They both pursed their mouths very similarly to Louis's father. Issue Charles was devout and refused to be adulterous. However, he believed conjugal relationships to be more of a duty, thus he only did such when he believed it was appropriate for another heir. He had a total of four children: * Jules-Joseph Michel (Born 18 October, 1757) * Marie-Elisabeth Josephine (Born 18 October, 1757) * Michel-Louis-Michel (Born 13 September, 1760) * Marie-Louise Genevieve (born 6 July, 1762) His wife, however, had a child with the Duc d'Anjou: * Marie-Clementine Sophie Victoire (born 8 August, 1758) Known Sayings Charles was always known to have quite a lip. Unlike his father and grandfather, he lacked compassion by the time he entered court. He followed orders, only orders. He cared for his family and the state, that was all. His lack of compassion was often, however, masked by his constant facade of mannerisms that were common among the court. He was known to have said many things in his short visits to court. * A provincial being charged of various heinous crimes against their suzerains, the House Blois de Penthievre, once tried to plead his 'good intentions' to Charles before his execution. Charles had a simple reply "Good intentions mean nothing here." * He once was noted to have said the following after seeing nothing less than a horde of court ladies running around following the Baron d'Autry: "I see little harlots chasing quite a quagmire. Soon enough they'll all get the same venereal disease and wonder whom is responsible." Category:Grandelumierian Marquis Category:Grandelumierian Nobility Category:House Le Tellier __FORCETOC__